Felt Like the Thing to Do
by Rogue Slayer1
Summary: How did Lindsey wind up with the AI team? Prequel to "Darness Rising."


Felt Like the Thing to Do  
By  
Rogue Slayer

  
**SUMMARY -** How did Lindsey wind up with the Angel Investigations team? Prequel to "Darkness Rising."  
  
**RATED -** PG-13 for language  
  
**COMPLETED - ** January 16, 2003  
  
**DISCLAIMER -** I own only the plot and some of the words.  
  


~*~*~*~

  
Lilah Morgan had never been so confused in her entire life. One minute, her life was hanging in the balance. She was certain that at any moment, Alan the security guard would step up behind her, press his gun to her temple, and put a bullet in her brain. And then, in an act of heroism, the most unlikely person saved her life.  
  
Lindsey.  
  
Lindsey McDonald, the man with whom Lilah competed with day-in, day-out. The man who she believed had hated her and wanted nothing more than to see her dead. It turned out, Lilah had greatly underestimated the cocky lawyer.  
  
Or had she?  
  
Was this just another one of his 'Kamikaze missions'? Had he grown so tired of living, he figured he'd take Lilah down with him? If that had been his plan, he'd failed miserably. After Lindsey walked out of the conference room for the final time, Nathan Reed announced that Lilah was promoted. Her life had been spared.  
  
Lilah exited the conference room and leaned against the door, closing her eyes and letting out a long, relieved sigh. She heard footsteps. Opened her eyes to see Lindsey - handsome as ever - approaching the exit with a box full of his belongings. Deciding to find out what was going on, Lilah followed him, doing her best to keep up, despite the fact that she was wearing a pair of high heels that were killing her feet.  
  
"Stop right there, McDonald."  
  
Lindsey rolled his eyes and pushed the button to bring the elevator up to their level. With his back facing his former rival, he replied in mock-annoyance, "What is it, Lilah?"  
  
"What the Hell happened back there?"  
  
The elevator arrived, the doors slid open, and Lindsey stepped inside. The doors began to slide shut, and Lilah barely managed to squeeze through.  
  
Lindsey pushed the button for the ground floor and replied, "What do you **think** happened? I saved your life."  
  
"Yeah, well, I wanna know why."  
  
"What? I need a reason?"  
  
"**Yes!**" Lilah hissed.  
  
Lindsey remained silent for a moment, then replied, "It just seemed like the thing to do."  
  
The doors opened, and the lawyers stepped into the parking garage. As she followed Lindsey to his silver Mercedes, Lilah repeated Lindsey's statement. "It just seemed like the thing to do?!"  
  
They reached Lindsey's car, and the Texan unlocked the Mercedes CLK 320. He opened the passenger's side door and set the box on the seat, frowning when he realized Lilah was not going to leave him alone. He knew that the longer he stayed there, the more likely Nathan's goons would come after him.  
  
"What kinda game are you playing, McDonald?"  
  
"I'm not **playing** any game, Morgan," Lindsey replied in a snotty tone. He brushed past her and circled the car, stopping when he reached the driver's side.  
  
"Well, if you're not playing with me - which I don't believe, by the way - why'd you do it?"  
  
Lindsey seriously contemplated getting in the car and driving away, leaving Lilah to stew in her curiousity. Although the idea sounded fun, he decided to cut her some slack. With a sigh, he replied, "Because, for the first time, I got in touch with my humanity."  
  
"Your humanity?" Lilah stared at him skeptically.  
  
"Yes, Lilah. My humanity. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Angel helped me realize that there's still some left in me. As much as you annoy me, Lilah...you don't deserve to die just because you fucked up on a few cases and made an idiot out of yourself."  
  
Normally, Lilah would respond with an equally biting remark. But not this time. And she, like Lindsey, felt something she'd long-since forgotten.  
  
Thankful.  
  
She crossed her arms and slowly approached Lindsey, stopping until she was standing in front of him. "The Senior Partners would probably have me flayed for this, but...you're not such a bad guy. God help me, I kinda like you."  
  
Lindsey chuckled. "Don't tell anyone I said this, but the feeling's mutual."  
  
"Are you kidding? And let them know that we actually had a civil conversation? Not in a million. Where're you heading?" Lindsey stared at her, and she answered his unspoken question. "I won't tell the Partners where you're going. My lips are sealed."  
  
"To be honest, I don't know. I might travel cross-country. See the sights."  
  
"Go back to your roots?"  
  
"Maybe." After a moment, Lindsey sobered. "Look, Lilah. You have the potential to do a lot of good. I don't buy into that bull shit about higher beings, but I do think there's such a thing as redemption."  
  
"Yeah, well, right now I can't afford to redeem myself. Maybe in ten years, but--"  
  
Lindsey shook his head and muttered, "Typical Lilah. Puts riches in front of conscience. You'll never change."  
  
"It's nice to see one of us is capable of that."  
  
"Don't sell yourself short. There may be hope for you yet."  
  
Lilah remained silent, processing Lindsey's words and bouncing them around in the pinball machine of her brain. Finally, she clapped Lindsey on the shoulder and said, "Well, see ya around, McDonald. Don't get into too much trouble."  
  
"You, too," Lindsey said, smiling slightly as he watched his former co-worker walk away. After taking a good look at her rear end and filing it under 'Things to Remember,' he let out a wistful sigh, opened the door, climbed in and drove out of the parking lot.  
  


~*~*~*~

  
Hours later, long after the sun had set, Lindsey approached his beat up but much-loved pick-up and set a duffel and his guitar case into the bed. He glanced up, smirking a little when he saw Angel approaching, and joked, "If you're here to kill me, grab ya a ticket and get in line."  
  
Angel leaned against the tailgate and replied, "Oh, I really like this truck. Fifty-six, right? First year they had that wrap-around windshield. You know, back in the fifties, we all thought life was gonna be like The Jetsons by now. Air cars. Robots...I'd love to have an air car. Wouldn't that be cool?"  
  
Lindsey smiled. "So, you're here to talk me to death."  
  
"Nah. I just came here to say, things don't always work out like you think. I bet Wolfram and Hart aren't too happy losing one of their best and their brightest."  
  
Losing none of his cocky lawyer attitude, Lindsey responded, "Yeah, well, let 'em come try to stop me. It'll be fun."  
  
"Well, I don't know if that's a healthy attitude. So, where're you going, Lindsey?" Angel peeked into the truck bed and asked, "Back to your roots?"  
  
"Something like that."  
  
Angel nodded his head slowly, and Lindsey decided to tease his former enemy even more. At least this time, he wouldn't have to worry about losing a hand...or something else.  
  
"I hope you're not waiting for me to tell you that I learned some kind of a lesson. That I had a big moral crisis, but now I see the light."  
  
Thankfully, Angel took the teasing well, and upped the anti. "If you told me that, then I'd have to kill you. I'm just here to say...Actually, I don't know what to say. Been hating you for so long..."  
  
"I know the feelin'." Then, seriously, Lindsey added, "Doesn't feel like I thought it would."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
Lindsey raised his hand and explained, "Thought it would feel great. Which it does, but..."  
  
"Weight's still there?"  
  
With a nod, the Texan answered, "The anger's gone, but--"  
  
"The guilt's remains?" Lindsey looked down, and Angel took a step forward, stuffing his hands into his coat pocket. "Won't go away, you know. I've been fighting for redemption for five years now. Making a difference feels...better than I can say. But the weight of what I did still lingers."  
  
"Why do you still do it? Why fight for redemption when you still feel the same?"  
  
Angel shrugged. "It's the thing to do."  
  
"Wow. If this is a pep talk...well, let's just say you need to work on your positive attitude."  
  
"This isn't a pep talk." Lindsey turned his eyes upward, and Angel came close. "It's an invitation." The lawyer raised a confused eyebrow, and the vampire with a soul answered the silent question. "I don't know how you feel about me. In fact, I'm pretty sure you still hate me. But if you're interested, we could really use your help."  
  
"My help?"  
  
With a smirk, Angel joked, "What? Do I have to get down on my knees and beg you?" Lindsey stared at him, smirking suggestively, and Angel took a few steps back. "Don't answer that question. Look, I'm serious here. If you want the job, it's yours. We could really use someone with your skills and knowledge of Wolfram & Hart. Think about it?"  
  
Angel started to walk away, but stopped when he heard Lindsey quickly say, "I thought about it." Angel turned back, and looked down at Lindsey, waited for an answer. With a devillish grin, Lindsey asked, "So...when do I start?" 


End file.
